Grandparent Presents

Let me preface this by saying I am not crafty...at all. Now that you know, please be very impressed that I pulled these off! I got the idea from a woman on one of my message boards and thought it was just so cute. Once she explained how she created these gifts, I thought I might be able to make them myself. It took me two trips to Michaels to pick up supplies such as paint pens (never even knew those existed) and synthetic snow. The end product was super cute and I hope the grandparents appreciated the effort because they did take me a lot of work. No laughing...I know some of my crafty friends could have made these look a lot cuter. And in case you haven't figured it out, the snowmen are the girls' handprints. Gracie's snowmen have green scarves and Kate's have red. Below is the poem I attached.

The day before Christmas

Kate decorating cookies

Gracie decorating cookies
LOVE how she sticks out her tongue when concentrating

The girls decorated sugar cookies the day before Christmas. I like giving them complete freedom while decorating in hopes that my budding Martha Stewarts will get better with practice and someday realize that cookies look and taste better when sparsely sprinkled. Here are some of the girls' favorites. Warning, little fingers were licked constantly while decorating. And FYI, these cookies were not delivered to our friends and family. Phew, no one is getting sick.

This one is a reindeer


That's Santa waving up there on the top left...see his cherry nose


My absolute favorite: The Christmas tree with half a jar of sprinkles representing "ornaments"

Gracie's favorite too

Yummo!

Our Nutcracker Tradition

Grandma and Girls
Today

Grandma and Girls
Vegas 2006

Oh I just love going to see The Nutcracker at Christmas. I love hearing the orchestra tune up and watching the people file into the hall. I love seeing all the little girls dressed up in their prettiest Christmas dresses to attend the production that is a tradition for many of them. Today marked the third year in a row of seeing the ballet with my daughters and mother. I saw The Nutcracker several times growing up but I don't think I ever knew the story as well as my girls. Grandma got their schema activated before the first visit (when they were three) by reading them the story and preparing them for what they were to see. I was nervous during that first trip to the ballet; I didn't know if they'd be able to sit through it. They were wonderful though, quite mesmerized. I can remember them carrying their little purses and looking so darling. I remember smiling at people when they asked, Are they twins?

Now at 5 years old, they are familiar with all the characters and can re-tell the story. Kate was looking forward to seeing Mother Ginger today and Gracie wanted to see the Mouse King. Both girls want to be Clara someday. Dream big, my little ballerinas. How wonderful it is to believe anything is possible. I can remember feeling the same.

Mom and Girls before today's performance

Disneyland

Disneyland, oh Disneyland. How should I even journal about our trip. Perhaps I should start by being honest. It was horrid. Absolutely dreadful. The worst Disney trip ever. Okay okay, it wasn't that bad, but it was pretty bad. Instead of strolling around the park, taking in the lovely Christmas decorations and snacking on Christmas goodies (I had printed out 4 pages or information as to where one might purchase items like gingerbread Mickey cookies, cranberry bread, and peppermint mochas, etc.), I spent my time lying on the couch in our hotel room watching episode after episode of Cash Cab. And since you're wondering why I chose Cash Cab over Mickey, let me back up a bit and explain how this came to be.

I wasn't in my hotel room the whole time. The first day at Disney we arrived before the gates opened, not due to my great time management skills but because I couldn't figure out what time it actually was. Yes I'm laughing as I'm writing this...long story about the hotel clock and the time change. Anyway, we were there early. The girls were squealing and jumping up and down like they do when they are super excited. Everyone in line was looking at them like they were a little odd but Shawn and I just smiled and said, they're really excited. We got in the park and headed right for Small World since it's Kate's favorite ride and it had been closed for repairs during our last trip. We were anxious to finally get there and see it all decked out for Christmas. And it certainly exceeded our expectations! You have to hand it to Disney for all the detail work. Even the mermaids in Small World were singing Jingle Shells and we noticed there were stockings for Ariel's sisters.

I can't remember the order of rides after this, I was actually feeling pretty icky and had taken some DayQuil, something I don't normally take but knew I needed to survive the day due to a wicked head cold. Anyway, some highlights from the first day include the following:

The girls' visit to the new Pixie Hollow where they got to meet Rosetta, the sweetest little garden fairy, who spoke to them in a Southern accent, and Tinkerbell, who was just darling and very generous with the time she gave to Gracie and Kate.




































A visit to Santa's Reindeer Round-Up where they got to see the real Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, etc., and take their picture with reindeer Pluto.












































The awesome Christmas parade complete with dancing gingerbread cookies, snowmen, Mrs. Claus and Santa. Of course the princesses were there too...decked out in holiday attire of course.



Other highlights from the first day include the girls' first ride on Big Thunder Railroad, a spectacular fireworks show and a lovely snowfall on Main Street.

My memory starts to get a little fuzzy at this point (must have been the developing fever) but I did make it back that second day after purchasing more DayQuil from the convenience store. We headed straight to Critter Country because Gracie wanted to go on Winnie the Pooh. And we did purchase a Gingerbread Mickey (so cute) at the store in the area. After eating our cookie, Gracie told me she would go on The Haunted Mansion and I was just thrilled because it had been given a whole Nightmare Before Christmas twist that I really wanted to see, but we had to turn back after 5 seconds of entering the mansion. Gracie just couldn't take it. And I'm glad we turned back, honestly, because it would have truly scared her. I did manage to ride it once by myself and enjoyed the Christmas/Halloween makeover. But at this point I wasn't feeling so great and I just got worse and worse. Long story short, I walked back to the hotel to rest while Shawn and the girls went to the California.

The last day is when the stomach flu kicked in for me and maybe I should just leave it at that...don't really need to bring back that memory in great detail. Shawn and the girls spent the day in Disneyland and had a nice time. Ideally I would have been with them but with such a curveball thrown, I had no other choice than to accept my fate of spending the day on the hotel room couch. I guess I took one for the team this time. It's unfortunate that I didn't get to experience Disney as I had anticipated but I am so very thankful no one else got sick! I hope they remember a happy trip despite Mom's sorry condition. Here are some images from It's a Small World (Christmas style) to keep the memory happy. Peace out.

Happy Birthday Dear Daddy

This will be a quick little entry since it is the eve before our big trip! I felt it was important to journal about Shawn's special day. His actual birthday is tomorrow, the day we leave for Disneyland, but we celebrated this evening at Mama and Papa's house with a proper family party. Kate was a little bit concerned about the number of people attending. Where are all the guests? she wanted to know. She doesn't quite understand that unfortunately (or maybe not) as we age, we don't get to throw huge themed parties and invite everyone we know .

But despite the low number of attendees, we had a nice time wishing Daddy a happy 37th! My mom, knowing that I had much to do today to prepare for the trip, was so kind to order an ice cream cake (Shawn's favorite) from Baskin Robbins. The cake had two little ice cream cones on top, one for each girl. And in case you're wondering, the cones were thoroughly enjoyed. After dinner and cake, we played a few rounds of crazy Morgan games and concluded with balancing spoons on our noses. Oh yes, Gracie was in full slap-happy mode.
And to think, I met Shawn about ten years ago. He was 27 when we first started dating. Happy Birthday, honey. And yes, you can honestly say, I'm going to Disneyland, when they ask how you will celebrate your birthday. Cheers to 37 years! I'm so thankful for your birth!

A Return to Disneyland

We are taking the girls to Disneyland in two days. This will be our sixth trip as a family (yes I know, they aren't even 6 years old yet) but this is the first time the trip will be a surprise to the girls, and this is the first time we will experience Disney with Christmas decor. They will find out Monday morning when they untie the note on their countdown that reads, "Pack your bags. We're going to Disneyland today!" I cannot wait until this moment. I've almost spilled the beans quite a few times because I'm just so excited.

They are quite enchanted with all things Disney. This is a bit ironic for me since I went through a phase where I swore I would never let my children be warped by those princess movies with their unrealistic "happily ever afters" and traditional gender roles. I can remember loving The Little Mermaid as a child but then becoming completely disenchanted when the movie was re-released during my college years, right after I had completed a literary theory course and was capable of dissecting the story. I wanted to scream at Ariel for giving up her fins to be with a man she had just met and loved her only for her beauty, Why are you giving up your roots for this man, Ariel?! Go back home! I think deep down I was angry because I was coming to see the world I experienced as a child through completely different lenses, ones that understood the fallacy of living happily ever after and the reality of the atrocities of mankind. I believed the princess stories had brainwashed my early understanding of the world and I was mad at them...arrrrrgh.

So why were my girls exposed to these princesses? I don't know how they were originally introduced to the movies (maybe Grandma, thanks Mom), but it was not my intention to show them to them. At the same time, I was not really opposed to them watching them; I was no longer in that angry state...or maybe I was just too tired to stick to any of my earlier convictions, haha. As my girls became familiar with Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella and all the others, I began to see them exude the same adoration for the characters that I had once felt. Kate fell in love with Snow White, and Gracie's early favorite was Belle. I'll never forget the look on Kate's face when Snow White greeted her at the princess luncheon, and I'll never forget watching my little princesses walk through Disneyland with their sweet costumes and fancy hair. It has been pure joy to watch their excitement while meeting the characters. It has been an absolute pleasure to witness them experience the magic of Disney as I did in my youth. And even though, during my coming of age period, I became angry that this land of Disney was so far from reality, I've come full circle with a new appreciation. I do look at Disneyland through different lenses now. I am no longer the innocent child experiencing the magic. I am now the adult observing the innocent child. I can't tell you which one is more magical.

Passing on the Tradition

I have introduced the girls to a new tradition this year, a Christmas countdown. Our countdowns are definitely a modified version of the more traditional advent calendars but serve the same purpose, at least in a secular sense. These particular countdowns are special to me because they used to belong to myself and my brother. My mom (one more domestically ambitious than myself) actually made them for us. Some of my fondest memories from childhood involve the daily anticipation in December of untying the yarn wrapped around little treasures like candy canes, dollar bills, and special messages. I can remember opening notes with messages such as, "Go Christmas light looking tonight!" I can remember how the dollar bills increased to 5's and 20's as we got older. I can remember being 2o years old, all alone in Germany at Christmas time and opening a box from home with my Christmas countdown completely filled up. These countdowns were made from love, and I am so happy to continue to spread this joy to my daughters this year. Their first message on December 1st read, "Decorate the Christmas tree tonight and drink hot chocolate!" We had a lovely time.

Tradition: creating and recovering memories through repeated experiences

With all the babble on my previous post about nature of memory, I thought it might be fun throughout the month to explore some ways our family makes memories through repeated experiences or "family traditions". It is the first of December. Yesterday Shawn and the girls surprised me twofold! They let me sleep in and they set up the Christmas tree! They did not decorate it by the way; that's way too important an event to do without Mommy! But they set it up while anticipating the Christmas season and all the fun that is to come. The girls actually begged me all morning to get their ornaments out of the garage. Little did they know that our tree decorating was not to commence until the night of December 1st, a new tradition with an explanation to come in the following days!

Shawn brought in my two big containers of Christmas treasures and the girls literally squealed as they spotted items from the past. Last year, Kate fell in love with an angel doll made from some rope material. I think it was a random decoration of my mom's that made its way to our house somehow, so no sentimental value to me. But for Kate, this doll was gold! I remember last year how sad she was when I told her I had packed it away after Christmas while reassuring her we would get it out next year. Kate found her doll yesterday and it was pure love. The angel doll is currently sleeping beside Kate and I'm sure she'll be Kate's favorite throughout the month. A year older now, it will be interesting to see how Kate reacts when it's time to pack up our Christmas items. I wonder if she'll sense that part of what makes tradition special is being able to say goodbye to things that our dear to us. I wonder if it will bring her comfort knowing she we will see the doll again some day. I wonder if she'll sense she can keep the doll's essence present in her heart, through her sweet memories.

Why a Blog?

I have been debating whether or not to enter this blog world for some time, as I like the idea of documenting my experiences online but find it simultaneously daunting. It's not that I'm nervous about others viewing what I choose to create in this little section of cyber space; I'm just a bit hesitant to make a commitment to maintaining something creative, as I have a little problem with starting projects and not finishing them. For example, I have four scrapbooks I've started along with a whole dresser full of the most adorable stickers, paper and other cutesy supplies, but zero completed scrapbooks. Zilch. It's really sad. I can't bring myself to work on them in my free time either. To be fair, I don't really have free time right now unless you count the few evening hours after the girls have gone to bed when I'm staring comatose at the computer screen or television trying to decompress. It just doesn't seem like the ideal time to create pretty layouts and stories about my girls' toddler years. I almost feel like I've lost some of those early memories because I wasn't journaling shortly after they happened...I was surviving. But that's another story and I should get back to my reasons for being here, on this blog. On my blog, I guess.

I feel a little creative outlet is necessary at this time in my life, one that involves celebrating my family's experiences through pictures and writing. I truly do want to preserve these sweet moments that seem to immediately transform into the realm of memory where they are either forgotten or surface to our conscious thought from time to time. Pictures bring such moments to the surface of memory. The written word can capture the little details that might otherwise be forgotten, and as a result, strengthen the memory.

Writing has been a source of pleasure throughout my life but I have been a little random and sporadic with my journal keeping (surprise, surprise), eventually giving it up a year or so after my girls were born with the realization, at that time, that the practice was kind of self indulgent and unproductive. Looking back, I think I was just kind of tired and adrift because deep down in my core I know need to journal. And although it might be a bit self indulgent, perhaps reclaiming my love for writing will be productive and beneficial to my well being, and ultimately my family's unity. I want my husband and my girls to know how thankful I am that we are intertwined in this life adventure, and how dearly I love them and cherish our time together. I'm hoping my writing and pictures on this blog will send that message. I really hope so...I don't want to even think about pulling out all the scrapbook supplies again.